Leaders in Lending

In traditional finance, the system runs on a centralized infrastructure and the burden of trust falls on people. In decentralized finance (DeFi), the burden of trust falls on smart contracts and on code.

According to today’s guest, Ryan Berkun, Founder & CEO at Teller Finance, financial institutions are going to dive into DeFi in a big way over the next 12 months.

Do you need a primer on all things DeFi, crypto, and NFT? Listen in.

We discuss:

- How lending on the blockchain has evolved

- Lending challenges around identity and privacy

- The emergence of NFTs and DAOs

- How to gain an understanding through hands-on experience

Mentioned during the podcast:
- Chainlink
- Coinbase
- MetaMask
- Aave
- Arbitrum
- Polygon
- OpenSea

To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

We've talked about AI a lot on this show, but we’ve never explained what it is exactly.

In this first part of a series of episodes explaining AI, we’re going back to the basics.

Host Jeff Keltner, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Upstart, explains the key components of AI, the use cases in lending environments, and some common challenges with machine learning and AI.

Topics covered:

- Four fundamental components of AI

- Use cases in lending

- Common challenges

- The hard work and dedication needed to get it right

To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

Banks can no longer afford to play it safe when it comes to their digital capabilities.

“Safe” is now risky.

That’s why, in this episode, Tony Hejna, EVP, Consumer Bank Chief Credit Officer at KeyBank, joins the show to share the secrets behind moving fast (without breaking things) and maintaining an edge in a highly regulated and increasingly competitive landscape.

Join us as we discuss:

- The 3 rules of job satisfaction

- Why staying safe is risky

- "The importance of a robust technology infrastructure"

- The threat and opportunity with open banking

- "Predictions for the 2022 macroeconomic environment"

To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

Financial institutions, particularly community banks, are experiencing a paradigm shift in the architecture of banking.

While the idea of stitching together the banking experience has always been present, we’re finally seeing a truly connected ecosystem due in part to the technological acceleration that’s taken place in the past 3 to 5 years.

In this episode, Nitin Mhatre, CEO of Berkshire Bank, discusses the importance of combining automation with personalization and how community banks can go beyond the baseline expectations to facilitate more environmentally and socially-responsible lending.

We discuss:

- Combining digital and human touchpoints

- The importance of a connected front, middle and back-office

- Improving financial literacy

- How to measure environmental and social responsibility

To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

How we grow digitally and use aids such as AI to accelerate current processes have been hot topics in the finance space for a while. And through the conversations we’ve had on Leaders in Lending, we’ve gained some invaluable insights.
In this special recap episode, Jeff Keltner, Senior Vice President Business Development at Upstart, takes the time to discuss the show's biggest themes and some takeaways for the audience.
We discuss:
Recurring themes gathered from guests & digitization
The best career & consumer lending advice & bold predictions for the future
What to look forward to next year


To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

Only 82% of the US population can be scored using conventional credit scores. That unscorable 18% is overwhelmingly comprised of marginalized communities—and that extreme disparity is unacceptable in this day and age. 
However, things are changing. Alternative data sources are opening the door for lenders to offer credit products to marginalized communities in ways that do not create more risk. Lenders have tools at their disposal to drive financial inclusion today—not to mention boost ROI. 
In this episode, Greg Wright, EVP and Chief Product Officer at Experian, shares some of the approaches for broadening the scorable population while increasing lender accuracy. 
We discuss: 
- How new products are driving improvements in credit scorability 
- The consumer permission model in credit data 
- The regulatory landscape around credit data sources 
- Better scoring models built with AI and ML 
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. 
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

Connecting with new and existing customers for financial institutions has been a challenge to execute. But with so much opportunity, it’s something financial institutions can’t afford to miss out on.

We speak with Jonathan Gagliano, EVP, GM Financial Services at Merkle, Inc., about what he sees, what works, and what to look forward to in regards to customer service.

We discuss:

- The right tech investments to improve the FI customer experience

- Trends in messaging to the top-of-funnel-customer

- The strategic way to measure success

- Optimizing the customer experience journey

To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

Banking is changing. 
The industry is at a transformation point. Consumers by and large have shown that they are ready to conduct their banking online. And the events of the last year have only accelerated this trend. 
In this re-run episode, Richard Hunt joins us to talk about what all the changes mean for the future of banking. Richard formerly worked for SIFMA, a securities industry trade association. Now, he is the President & CEO of Consumer Bankers Association (CBA), a trade association focused on the consumer side of banking. 
Some topics that we covered: 
- How trade associations, like CBA, support the banking industry 
- What the future of banking looks like under the Biden Administration 
- What banks are focusing on as they move to a more digital experience 
- Upcoming priorities for the CBA 
To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website. 
Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

In the modern world, financial institutions are looking to strike a delicate balance between offering consumers easy transactional interactions online and offering more relational services by phone or in person.

The banks and credit unions that continue to adapt and to figure out how to add value in the way consumers want these days are the ones that will survive in the evolving landscape

Nathanael Tarwasokono, President & CEO at Firstmark Credit Union, joins the show to talk about the art of finding balance between what he calls the “bricks and clicks.”

We discuss:

- Why Firstmark is certifying in-branch staff as financial coaches

- New approaches to qualifications for consumer lending

- The strategy around being selective about the products you offer

- How financial institutions can combat buy now, pay later

To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.

Building trust and loyalty in the digital age is an ongoing challenge many businesses face.

The question always comes down to: What investments should you be making to enable a digital experience that will leave your customers wanting more?

Jeff Keltner, Senior Vice President of Development at Upstart and the host of the show, shares his thoughts on what your financial institution needs to succeed in the modern world.

Jeff discusses:

- Three things a financial institution needs to offer their customers to earn loyalty

- Improving beyonddigital experiences that don’t meet expectations

- Three tips for enabling the digital experience

- The evolving value of the high-touch, person-to-person experience

Mentioned during the podcast:

- Episode 27 w/ Vince Passione from LendKey

- Episode 22 w/ Mark Pregmon from USAA

- Episode 7 w/ Jim Deitch from Teraverde Management Advisors

- Episode 3 w/ Robert Pirelli from TCF Bank

- Episode 2 w/ Cathy Myers from First Financial Bank

To hear more from Leaders in Lending, check us out on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, or on our website.

Listening on a desktop & can’t see the links? Just search for Leaders in Lending on your favorite podcast player.